


When The Sun Goes Down

by Carrot_Bunny



Series: MakoHaru Festival 2015 [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romance, inspiration by Owl City
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-03-13 00:06:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3360380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carrot_Bunny/pseuds/Carrot_Bunny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“With total darkness in front of him, his other senses were heightened. He could hear the soft murmurs of the people surrounding them, smell the fresh scent of spring grass, and feel Makoto’s fingers gently rubbing against his palms.” Written for the Official Makoharu Festival 2015 - it's posted on their Tumblr page now!</p>
            </blockquote>





	When The Sun Goes Down

“Go on, do it.”

“This is silly.”

“No, it’s fine. Just close your eyes.”

Haruka sighed. “Fine.” His eyelids closed and he took a deep breath. “One. Two.”

With total darkness in front of him, his other senses were heightened. He could hear the soft murmurs of the people surrounding them, smell the fresh scent of spring grass, and feel Makoto’s fingers gently rubbing against his palms.

“Three. Four.”

They were leaving the round now – he could feel the shift in the surface below his feet. He suddenly had a fleeting moment of worry that the wicker basket they were in would not be strong enough to withstand the weight of its passengers, and his brow furrowed.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Keep counting.”

“Five. Six. Seven. Eight.”

He could picture the ground falling further away from them with every passing second. Strangely, he no longer felt anxious as they gained altitude; on the contrary, it was as if a burden on his shoulders had been lifted off. His eyelids grew heavy as his breathing evened.

“Nine. Ten.”

Haruka opened his eyes to the sight of the sun sinking behind the hills in the distance. He looked down at the people milling about below on the field, now no bigger than ants.

“Nice up here, isn’t it?”

Haruka shrugged. “I prefer being in water.”

Makoto’s light laugh rang in his ears. “Of course you do. Still, don’t you think being in the air feels a lot like swimming? You’re just suddenly… weightless.”

“The force of gravity hasn’t disappeared yet, you know.” Still, Haruka agreed with Makoto’s observation. Right now he felt like his tether to the earth had been cut and he could just float up into space.

“Haru-chan.” Haruka turned to look into Makoto’s emerald eyes just as the burner above them roared to life. The leaping flames painted shadows on the people below as the warm spring air around them grew even hotter, and a bead of sweat ran down Haruka’s cheek.

“Sure wish it would rain to cool everything off a bit,” he said without further thinking.

“But that would mean the hot-air balloon can’t continue flying, and we’d have to go back down. Besides, this definitely has the best view.” Makoto pointed to the already dark sky, just as a firework shot upwards and exploded in mid-air, raining blue sparks on everything below.

“Look Haru-chan, it’s your favorite colour.”

“My favorite colour’s green.”

“Eh? I thought it was blue.”

“Your eyes aren’t blue.” Said eyes widened, and Haruka looked away quickly as a blush crept over his cheeks. He had no idea why he’d blurted that out.

“Haru.” Something in his voice made Haruka turn back to face him. Makoto was smiling gently at him. “I’m really happy to be here with you today.”

“Yeah… well, don’t get too used to it. I usually don’t go out much after dark.”

“I know. Your training schedule requires you to wake up early after all.” Makoto cast his eyes down at the twinkling lights of the city below. “Every time I come to see you at practice, I always think how Haru-chan looks so beautiful working so hard. It’s like you have this shining aura around you, whether you’re in the water or out of it.”

“Hey.” Haruka nudged Makoto’s arm with his shoulders causing the other to look back at him. “You shine just as bright. You’re top of your class, and when you graduate you’ll be an amazing instructor, helping kids let their potential shine in the pool as well. So… keep doing your best.”

Makoto’s face broke out in a brilliant smile. “Thank you.” Then, “I love you, Haru.”

“I know.” It was all Haruka could think to say. His face burned. “I mean, I… I feel the same way about you.”

“That makes me glad.” There was silence for a moment, then Makoto pointed at the other multi-colored balloons scattered around them. “They look like stars, don’t they?”

“Really big stars.”

“Shooting stars. We can pretend they’re shooting stars! What would you wish for, Haru-chan?”

“Nothing. I already have all I need.” He reached for Makoto’s hand, holding it tightly, and smiled as Makoto squeezed his palm in return. Maybe it was just him, but the night seemed a little brighter, like a light had been turned on.

**Author's Note:**

> I had Owl City’s Shooting Star on repeat when I was writing this, because inspiration duh. Strongly recommend listening to the song when reading too!


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